Bontrager Ballista MIPS aero helmet: experience

Welsh boy wrote:

Cats ears are very effective (or at least the ones I made were). I made a triangular piece to cover my ears which fitted over both straps which acted as ear warmers and sound attenuators, the effect was unbelievable but I looked like a real dick (maybe that wasn’t the fault of my ear warmers though), it was just about acceptable for winter rides in the dark but they had to come off when it warmed up in the spring.

Have a look at Specialized helmets with their tri-fix strap splitter, it is the reason I wear one of their helmets, it is the most comfortable strap system I have used. 

I  am affraid of that look and will need to grow Pushkin's beard to hide cats ears or maybe with beard issue is solved anyhow

Fully agree on Specialized, own one and love it, simply clever solution. 

Linkan wrote:

This is true for the Bontrager Circuit helmet as well and it is a bit annoying (still use it because the lid itself fits well). Try Kask or Poc, they do have better straps.

So it seems to be general issue for Bontrager strap system.  Didn't know it. Ordered online without having possibility to check in any store. 

My previous Specialized helmet has different and much simpler solution, similar to that one can find on POC helmets. Straps always stay flat. There are different opinions saying that this is neither perfect because of limited adjustability but never had issue because of that.

The most important and decisive factor for Ballista was safety. Currently it is second best helmet on the market according to Virginia Tech test

https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/bicycle-helmet-ratings.html

I was looking for aero lid as well. Since I need biggest L size, most of aero options are pretty heavy and Ballista offers very good ballance between weight (300g), ventilation, comfort  and price.  

Kask doesn't use MIPS (yet ?)

As you can see from results of Virginia Tech above, Giro Synthe improved by 4 points (17 --> 13) after MIPS implementation.  

From POC aero helmet POC Ventral Spin is a nice option. However I am not sure how their SPIN padding compares against proven MIPS. It's also rather on expensive side.

Simon E wrote:

But seriously, while impartial advice and independent tests are very useful, the differences between all those holey polystyrene hats is going to be pretty small in a real world impact.

I trust numbers of independent institutions like Virgina Tech and I wish we had more of those.  Amount of not dissipated or residual  force that leads to concussion is known and can be easily measured. There are helmets with 50% (std.) risk reduction, 35% (MIPS) and Bontrager claims much better numbers with WaveCel concept.

Of course wearing of helmet is a key message,  no question about that.

Price of helmet is nothing compared to set of good wheels but much more important when it is needed. 

Therefore I see no reason or logic to close eyes on the numbers. I believe there might be minor differences between 5* and 4* helmets in this test and 3* should be avoided as it is recommended elsewhere.   

fenix wrote:

https://www.cat-ears.com

That is very nice idea. Will be looking into it.

However, issue is that strap itself gets loose and doesn't stay flat.

According to some user review on Amazon, in such case, Car-Ears aren't as effective.

"You will need to make sure that the straps in front of your ears are tight enough to keep the screen in contact with your sideburns to effectively shield your ears, but once that is done, they are surprising effective. On my first use, my straps had loosened some over time so they weren’t tight enough to be effective and I had to tighten up the front straps to experience the benefits".

Welsh boy wrote:

That’s easy enough to sort. If you are so good that the aero drag of a helmet strap sitting slightly off your head is a worry to you I am sure that the manufacturer will be more than happy to make you a custom strap. What is your real name vovis so we can look out for you in the grand tours and world championships? Get over yourself. 

My main consern is not wind drag but increased noise level compared to my previous helmet caused by straps.  I mentioned drag because, I believe,  for some it can be important.